Pure, Childish Joy
by Miss Wonderfreak
Summary: Edward comes home to Risenbulle sp? and Winry persuads him to be a child again for just one night. EdWin. rated for language.


Disclaimer: Tell you what, instead of putting these stupid disclaimers at the front of all my FMA fanfics, why don't I just tell you when I DO own FMA?

**Pure, Childish Joy**

**  
**Winry sighed. She glanced tiredly at her workbench, covered with spare parts. She really should clean it up. She sighed again. But tonight she was just so tired… it could wait until tomorrow, couldn't it? She stumbled to the sink and began washing her hands of the black grease that seemed to coat everything she owned. Winry dried her hands and looked around. Her workroom was turning into dump. She hoped nothing was rusting. But she hadn't had time to clean it. Well, that was partially her fault. Every time she had a spare moment, a certain blonde alchemist drifted to mind… So she filled her time with automail. Automail design, automail construction, automail repair, anything to keep him out of her head. Because that was not where she wanted Edward Elric to be.

She yawned. She really was tired. She headed up the stairs to bed and collapsed. Her entire body was filled with fatigue, but she couldn't sleep. She relaxed, and tried to stop her spinning brain. Eventually, the calming lull of crickets outside her window rocked her into a gentle stupor. She vaguely remembered a time when Alphonse had the flu, and Edward wanted to catch a cricket for him for entertainment. They had snuck out of bed and had spent the half the night chasing the little bugs. It was the best night of her life. Her last thought before she drifted off to sleep was how he had looked as he gazed at the tiny insect he held in his cupped hands, his face filled with pure, childish joy.

Winry woke to the sun on her face, the birds chirping, and Pinako making breakfast in the kitchen below. She stretched and yawned, like a cat, then padded sleepily down the stairs in search of nourishment.

"G'morning, Granny." She murmured sleepily, piling steaming pancakes high on her plate, and drizzling them with golden brown maple syrup.

"Good morning? Good afternoon is more like it!" Pinako snapped good-naturedly, nodding at the clock, which read 1:30.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I slept in a bit." Winry smiled sheepishly. Pinako only sighed and shook her head.

"You've been working far too hard, m'girl. You need to take some time for yourself, or you'll become ill!" Pinako waved her spatula around wildly, splattering the room with the remaining batter.

"I'm fine Granny, really."

Pinako merely sniffed. Their argument was interrupted by a loud shout of "Hello". Pinako and Winry poked their heads outside, and were greeted by the sight of Edward Elric, waving a one armed greeting, followed by Alphonse.

Winry twitched.

"He… broke... it… again…" She growled, reaching for her wrench.

It was dinnertime, and Edward, Winry, Pinako, and Alphonse were gathered around the small table in the kitchen. Edward was wolfing down food as fast as he could.

"Brother, slow down! You are going to get a stomach ache if you eat so quickly!" Al reprimanded.

"But I'm hungry!" Ed whined.

"That is no excuse for not having any manners!"

Grumbling, Ed slowed his shoveling pace a bit.

"So, when are you two leaving again for Central?" Pinako asked, trying to settle them down.

"Tomorrow."

Winry's grip on her fork tightened, turning her knuckles white.

"Oh, so soon?" Pinako inquired.

"Yes. We have some important business to attend to, and we can't afford distractions." Edward said, between bites.

Winry stood up stiffly.

"Excuse me." She said in a cold voice, and headed upstairs to her room.

Edward lay on his back, as Winry tinkered with the joints on his arm.

"How the hell did you manage to screw with the ball bearings?" She muttered angrily.

"Actually, funny story, that-"

"Tell me the truth, Edward."

He was silent for a minute, the softly he whispered.

"I can't."

"Why not?" She stood up angrily. "You never tell me anything!"

"I want to, it is just that-"

"Right! If you really wanted to, you'd tell me, instead of leaving me to worry while you go off on your adventures, then you come home all bruised and beaten up and you expect me not to ask any questions! Well I can't do that, even if I am being a distraction!" Abruptly she turned away from him to face the wall. He sat up, and stared at her shaking back.

"Winry… are you… crying?" He asked, horrified.

"No. Just go away. I'll finish your automail later." She sniffled, her voice cracking. Then she gasped as he pulled her into a hug.

"You aren't a distraction! That isn't what I meant. I just mean that Alphonse needs his body back first thing, and the longer we delay, the harder it may be to get it. You have to understand." He whispering, smoothing her hair. And he just held her as she sobbed.

_  
_ Winry lay awake in her bed, staring out the window at the stars. She couldn't sleep. If she concentrated hard enough, she could hear Edward's snoring from the living room below. Alphonse was out somewhere, probably saving cats in the dead of night. The crickets outside did not relax her this time. Instead, they only made her more keyed up. She sighed, and got up, pulling a bathrobe over her nightgown, knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep for a while yet. She crept aimlessly downstairs. Edward lay on the couch, his mouth slightly open. A strand of drool dangling from his lip. To her absolute horror, she found that she thought it was cute, not disgusting. Sighing, she padded into the kitchen, and sat at the table, staring blankly at the wall. She was so sick of her life. It was the same thing every day. Get up, work on automail, go to sleep. It was all the same. The monotony was beginning to overwhelm her. The clock ticked steadily in the corner, signifying as the seconds of her life passed meaninglessly by. She was going insane, the only one awake in this dark house. She felt like she was the only human alive in the entire world. Abruptly, Winry stood up. She needed to do something spontaneous or she thought she would die. She ran into the other room, and shook Edward awake.

"Edward." She whispered.

"Hmph… don't want the milk… huh? Winry? Why are you up? Is everything alright?" He muttered groggily, propping himself up on his elbows, a note of alarm creeping into his voice at the last sentence.

"Everything is fine, I just couldn't sleep."

"So why the hell did you have to wake _me_ up?" He groaned, burying his head under his pillow. She dragged the pillow away.

"Edward… listen. Do you remember when we were little, and Alphonse caught the flu? And you felt sorry for him, so you decided to catch him a cricket to cheer him up, and we spent half the night chasing crickets?"

"Um… Yeah, what about it?" He asked, puzzled.

"Well… I know Alphonse isn't sick or anything, but I was wondering…" She bit her bottom lip "Would you come catch a cricket with me?"

"What the hell?"

"Well, I feel like my life is the exact same all the time. Every day I repeat what I did that day before. I need to do something reckless and impulsive. I need to feel alive again!"

"Winry… can we talk about this in the morning" He moaned.

"And what about you! Always being so goddamned mature and selfless! You're only 15 for God's sakes! Live a little! Teenagers are supposed to be reckless! But you wouldn't know that, cooped up in your books and alchemic arrays! Be a little kid again! Have fun!" She pressed..

He cocked his head.

"Winry…" He said, his voice filled with indecision. She could tell that he felt it too, the urge to be young once more, to be innocent and carefree…

"Please?" She whispered, touching his cheek gently.

"…Fine. Let's go." He muttered, feigning disinterest.

"One more thing. No alchemy. You absolutely cannot use your alchemy to catch the cricket."

"But Winry-"

"No buts. No alchemy."

"Alright." He sighed, and hand in hand they crept out the kitchen door and out into the darkness.

Once out the door, she began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Edward asked, tramping through the tall grass of the field.

"Just life. We're 15 years old and we are sneaking out of the house to catch crickets in the middle of the night."

Edward looked at her for a minute, then he too began to laugh. Soon both of them were doubled over laughing, tears running down their faces. Slowly, they calmed down. Winry took a deep breath.

"So, to hunt a cricket. If I was a cricket, where would I be…" Edward mused.

"Just follow the sound."

They began combing through the meadow, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the nearest chirping.

"There he is!" Winry yelled, diving for it. But the cricket hopped out of her reach, and began to leap away.

"Just a minute, you!" Edward sped after it, with Winry behind him. She tripped over a tuft of grass, and fell into his arms, and he twirled her around before he collapsed. They lay on their backs, breathing heavily, and giggling. Winry looked up at the perfectly clear night sky. The stars seemed to sparkle, like unattainable diamonds in the sea of black velvet night. She sighed.

"It sure is beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, watching the tiny, cold lights twinkle.

Edward turned his head, and gazed at her profile, illuminated by starlight.

"Yeah. It sure is."

And they stumbled back to the house, a silver rose blush tingeing her cheeks with pure, childish joy.


End file.
